After 70 Years On The Throne, Britain’s  Longest Serving Monarch Dies At 96

Queen Elizabeth II, United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch, died yesterday at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeen, Scotland, aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.

She was Britain’s longest reigning monarch. The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

Her family gathered at her Scottish estate yesterday after concerns grew over her health.

With her death, her eldest son, Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

All the Queen’s children yesterday travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision.

Her grandson, Prince William, was also there, but his brother, Prince Harry, came over one hour after the news of her death was announced.

Earlier yesterday morning, the Queen was under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned for her health and recommended that she remain under medical supervision.

Prince Charles travelled to Balmoral with the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Duke of Cambridge also went to the Scottish estate, about 40 miles (64km) west of Aberdeen.

The announcement of her death came after the Queen, 96, pulled out of a meeting of her Privy Council on Wednesday, with doctors advising her to rest.

There were clearly pressing concerns for the Queen’s health – much more explicitly put than before, and especially her difficulties with mobility.

There are also warnings against unfounded speculation, such as that she might have had a fall. And on Tuesday she was on her feet and photographed smiling in a picture with the new prime minister, Liz Truss.

But from the last-minute cancellation of what would only have been a virtual meeting of the Privy Council – of senior ministers – there was no mistaking the fragility of the Queen’s health.

Prime Minister Liz Truss said the “whole country” was “deeply concerned” by the news of her ill health.

“My thoughts – and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom – are with Her Majesty the Queen and her family at this time,” she added.

The Queen had appointed Ms Truss as prime minister at Balmoral, instead of travelling to London for the event.

During her 70-year reign the Queen typically hosted her new prime minister at Buckingham Palace.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “My prayers, and the prayers of people across the Church of England and the nation are with Her Majesty, the Queen today.

“May God’s presence strengthen and comfort Her Majesty, her family, and those who are caring for her at Balmoral.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was “deeply worried”, while Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon sent her thoughts and wishes to the Queen.

Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford sent his best wishes on behalf of the people of Wales.

Before her death yesterday, the Queen had been on a summer break at her Scottish home since July.

 

King Charles Becomes King of United Kingdom

Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son, Charles, 73, has automatically become king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

 

Life And Times Of Queen Elizabeth II

In her first public speech, a 14-year-old Princess Elizabeth sent a message of “cheerfulness and courage” to children who had been evacuated from their family homes in a live radio broadcast in the early phase of World War II.

Though it was hardly known in 1940, Queen Elizabeth II’s distinct shrill voice went on to become instantly recognisable to almost everybody living in Britain and millions more overseas during her reign.

She led the world’s most famous royal family through often-difficult times and greeted generations of kings, presidents and despots as the stalwart head of state to a key, but declining, nation in seven decades of a global transformation.

“She always put duty first, long after others of her generation had retired. When she became queen, people anticipated a new Elizabethan Age of peace and prosperity. Such optimism was justified, with decades of great change and mostly rising living standards,” Elizabeth Norton, a historian, told Al Jazeera.

“During her long life, she weathered many storms. Elizabeth II mostly stood apart from controversy in the royal family – particularly in her later years – and will justly be remembered as one of the best-loved monarchs of the modern period.”

Queen Elizabeth II was born in London in 1926 and was most likely set to remain a princess until she was nudged towards succession by the abdication of her uncle, King Edward VIII, in 1936, and her father – King George VI – was crowned.

The queen’s marriage to Prince Philip, whom she wed when she was 21, stayed solid for 74 years, until his death in April 2021.

She became queen at 25, after her 56-year-old father’s sudden death in 1952, and began a reign that was characterised by change and moral questioning that probed everything up to the privilege that gave her riches, fine jewellery and palaces.

“Her stoic public persona and unchanging personal style offered Britons an unwaveringly consistent figurehead during unparalleled technological and cultural change,” Eloise Parker, a contributing editor at HelloMagazine.com, told Al Jazeera.

“And yet, she quietly kept pace with the times, becoming the last British monarch to communicate by telegram and the first to send a tweet.”

Times were changing. Early in her reign, an annual bash for posh debutantes was moved out of Buckingham Palace and its exclusive summer garden parties were opened up to nurses, builders and others from the bottom of Britain’s rigid class structure.

Her live Christmas Day speech of 1957 was the first television appearance of a British monarch. Later, she mastered the art of prerecording festive messages and was nicknamed “One-take Windsor”, using her family name.

Modernising did not stop at television. The royal website came online in 1997, followed by a YouTube channel a decade later and then Twitter in 2009 and Facebook and Flickr the next year.

For Christopher Warwick, a royal biographer, regal reforms beg a question about what comes next.

“She was switched-on and fully in control over the monarchy. Nothing happened without her say so, and, during her time, the institution changed from one with Victorian inclinations to one in which Prince William could marry a middle-class Kate Middleton,” he told Al Jazeera.

“She was never-changing, ever-changing; and there was a sense of self-preservation in how the monarchy moved with the times. One wonders, though, what the diluted royal bloodline and royals dovetailing with celebrities mean for the future of the institution.”

Change was not always easy. Tabloids grew ever-hungrier for royal gossip after Rupert Murdoch’s media empire reached Britain in 1969. When punk band, the Sex Pistols, declared “God Save The Queen” in 1977, they were hardly cheering the sovereign.

The queen herself called 1992 an “annus horribilis” as scandals broke about her children’s relationships and fire tore through Windsor Castle – sparking a row over whether hard-working taxpayers should foot the repairs bill.

She was criticised for appearing cold and distant upon the death of the estranged Princess Diana in 1997. She stayed in a Scottish castle until a public outcry greeted her return to London.

“Where is our Queen?” asked one of Murdoch’s tabloids.

Though she seldom voiced opinions, the queen followed politics and public opinion. Civil servants called her “Reader Number 1”; such was her scrutiny of official papers.

Prime ministers, with whom she had weekly hour-long meetings, described an astute observer of home and world affairs.

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who reportedly had frosty relations with the queen, described the confabs as “quietly business-like”.

Tony Blair, another prime minister, said he “could discuss anything with her”. Keeping the royal family was a “no-brainer”, he added. “They bring something no one else can.”

“Maintaining restraint and neutrality during Britain’s ever-changing political and economic climate, Elizabeth’s reign may most pertinently be summarised by the ‘Keep calm and carry on’ wartime mantra of her formative years,” added Parker.

She made hundreds of official overseas visits to such countries as Russia, where her relatives were executed in 1917, communist China and the United States, which beat the forces of her ancestor King George III in its war for independence in 1783.

In 2011, she made the historic first visit of a British monarch to Ireland in a century, easing years of bitterness and bloodshed.

While ever-gracious, the queen’s late gaffe-prone spouse, Prince Philip, was less diplomatic. When visiting Xian in 1986, he called the Chinese “slitty-eyed”. Such blunders did not appear to bother the queen, who called her husband her “strength and stay all these years”.

She hosted many of the world’s celebrated statesmen, including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and Charles de Gaulle of France, and greeted some of its most terrible tyrants, from Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania to Uganda’s Idi Amin.

In 2009, she delicately hosted then-US President Barack Obama, whose paternal grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, had been tortured by British forces in Kenya’s Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s.

Over the years, she met crowds across Britain and hosted some 50,000 guests annually at Buckingham Palace.

For Prince William, one of eight grandchildren via four children, she was a “proper professional at her trade”.

UK coins and stamps will look different without her profile. Her death leaves hundreds of organisations needing a patron, including the RSPCA, an animal charity that reflected her appreciation of corgis, racehorses and other creatures.

Despite all the talk of the royal reserve, for Warwick, the queen was never that far away.

“People often waited hours for a chance to glimpse the world’s best-known monarch, which may have made her appear distant. Yet, beneath the hat, crown or tiara was a real, very modest human being, like you or I,” Prince William said.

“She always created a buzz, and on the other side of that proverbial barrier was a natural, lively, charismatic, likeable person who was surprisingly easy to talk to. She was comfortable with who she was, which made others comfortable, too.”

 

World Leaders Mourn Queen Elizabeth II

World leaders have commiserated with the United Kingdom over the death yesterday of British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth ll, who passed away at the age of 96 after a brief illness.

President Muhammadu Buhari has described as sad the news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth ll.

He said, “My family and I, and the more than 200 million Nigerians have learned with immense sadness of the passing of the Queen and the end of her unique and wonderful 70-year-reign. Her late Majesty was the only British Sovereign known to 90 percent of our population.

“Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom and the entire Commonwealth as we join the entire world in mourning her loss.

“The story of modern Nigeria will never be complete without a chapter on Queen Elizabeth ll, a towering global personality and an outstanding leader. She dedicated her life to making her nation, the Commonwealth and the entire world a better place.”

The president, in a statement by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, prayed that King Charles III’s reign will witness the continuing robust relations between the two nations, Britain and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, new United Kingdom Prime Minister, Liz Truss, yesterday paid tribute to the British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away yesterday at the age of 96.

From Downing Street Truss delivered the following statements: “We are all devastated by the news we have just heard from Balmoral. The death of Her Majesty the Queen is a huge shock to the nation and to the world.

“Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign.

“Britain is the great country it is today because of her.

“She ascended the throne just after the Second World War. She championed the development of the Commonwealth – from a small group of seven countries to a family of 56 nations spanning every continent of the world.

“We are now a modern, thriving, dynamic nation.

“Through thick and thin, Queen Elizabeth II provided us with the stability and the strength that we needed. She was the very spirit of Great Britain – and that spirit will endure.”

According to PM Truss , the late Queen’s life of service stretched beyond living memories, and in return, she was loved and admired by the people in the United Kingdom and all around the world.

“She has been a personal inspiration to me and to many Britons. Her devotion to duty is an example to us all,” she said.

“Earlier this week, at 96, she remained determined to carry out her duties as she appointed me as her 15th prime minister.

“Throughout her life she has visited more than 100 countries and she has touched the lives of millions around the world.

“In the difficult days ahead, we will come together with our friends across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the world to celebrate her extraordinary lifetime of service.

“It is a day of great loss, but Queen Elizabeth II leaves a great legacy.

“Today the Crown passes – as it is has done for more than a thousand years – to our new monarch, our new head of state: His Majesty King Charles III.

“And with the passing of the second Elizabethan Age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country.”

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden and leaders around the world mourned Queen Elizabeth II, following her death earlier Thursday at the age of 96.

The President and first lady Jill Biden said in a joint statement that the Queen – the longest-reigning British monarch whose rule spanned seven decades — “defined an era.”

“Today, the thoughts and prayers of people all across the United States are with the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in their grief,” the White House statement said. “We send our deepest condolences to the Royal Family, who are not only mourning their Queen, but their dear mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world.”

Meanwhile, former President Goodluck Jonathan has described the late queen of England as a champion of social change and a protagonist of modern Britain.

In a series of tweet on his official twitter handle, the former president said Queen Elizabeth was a well loved sovereign.

He said “My deepest condolences to King Charles, the United Kingdom and the entire Commonwealth over the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in British history.

“She was a well-loved sovereign with a strong sense of duty and service, a champion of social change and a protagonist of modern Britain.

“Her Majesty was a remarkable matriarch who exemplified dignity, selflessness, and compassion and, for a long time, stood as a symbol of unity in the Commonwealth.

“Her death will be deeply felt across the worldMay God comfort her family and grant her soul eternal repose.

On his part, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said the world has list revered, cherished and admired icon, with the demise of Queen Elizabeth II.

He recalled that the late Queen’s visit to Nigeria were beautiful occasions and the respect and esteem with which she was always held by Nigerians helped in maintaining the strong bond of friendship that exists between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

In a statement he personally signed, Tinubu said, “With the sad passing, today, of Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom has lost one of its greatest ever monarchs and the world has lost a much cherished, revered and admired Icon.

“Her Energy, dedication, deep sense of duty and firm belief in the glory of the United Kingdom, particularly in the most troubling and troubled times of her long and distinguished reign, are the lasting legacies for which she shall always be remembered.

“As the first British monarch to reach seven decades on the throne, her patriotic role birthed and sustained warm and enduring friendship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

“Her visits to these shores were always beautiful occasions and the respect and esteem with which she was always held by the Nigerian people helped to maintain the strong bond of friendship that subsists between our two nations.

“My family’s thoughts and prayers are with the new King, Charles III, the entire Royal Family and all commonwealth nations at this time of mourning and sadness. May she rest in eternal peace”.Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, in his condolence message said , “The beloved Queen represented the UK and Commonwealth with balance and wisdom. She guaranteed stability in moments of crisis and kept alive the value of tradition in a society in constant and profound evolution.

“Her spirit of service, her dedication… the deep dignity with which she held office for such a long time … has been a constant source of admiration for generations,” he said in a statement.

He also hailed the Queen’s dedication and spirit of service

On his party, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Twitter that he was ‘deeply saddened’ over the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, saying ‘her unwavering, lifelong dedication will be long remembered’

“She was a good friend to the UN and a reassuring presence through decades of change,” Guterres said.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained” by the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

The monarch of India’s former colonial power had “provided inspiring leadership to her nation and people”, Modi tweeted, adding that she “personified dignity and decency in public life”.

British trade union RMT said they had suspended strike action scheduled for September 15 and 17, and will join the nation in paying respects to Queen Elizabeth following the monarch’s death.

“We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country,” the RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) said in a tweet.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on Twitter that Queen Elizabeth II embodied the British nation’s continuity and unity for over 70 years.

“I remember her as a friend of France, a kind-hearted queen who has left a lasting impression on her country and her century,” Macron said.

Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard also sent his condolences to the public of the United Kingdom after the announcement of Queen Elizabeth’s death.

On their part, Canadians across the country will mourn the death of the Queen, Canada’s Governor-General Mary Simon said on Twitter, offering condolences to the British Royal Family.

“Canadians across the country will mourn the loss of The Queen. Let us take a moment to honour Her Majesty’s memory in each of our own ways,” he said.

Meanwhile, PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, described the passing of Queen Elizabeth II as the end of a golden era.

Atiku, in a statement he personally signed, said that her passing came to everyone around the globe as a rude shock.

“Her passing is the end of a golden era. Her reign was epochal, not just in the United Kingdom but the entire Commonwealth.

“The world has known only one Queen and the passing of Queen Elizabeth II will be the end of an impactful reign and, for the rest of our humanity, it shall be the beginning of history.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the people and government of the United Kingdom and, importantly, the royal family.

“May the soul of the Queen Rest in Peace,” Atiku said.

On his part, the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, yesterday mourned the demise of Queen Elisabeth II, saying she was devoted to democratic ideals.

In her twitter message, Obi said her reign was impactful and beautiful as it explored ideals, charity, selflessness and empathy.

Obi said, “I am saddened to hear of the passing on of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. My thoughts and prayers are with the @RoyalFamily , the entire United Kingdom and the Commonwealth nations, over this irreplaceable loss.

“Hers was an impactful reign and beautiful and explored life devoted to democratic ideals, charity, selflessness and empathy. She will always be remembered by the lives, organisations, institutions and countries she positively touched during her reign. May she rest in eternal peace. -PO”

 

How the Queen ‘Saved’ My Life – Prof Badejo

On February 6, 1952, Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip were on a visit to Kenya and stayed the night at a treetop lodge at the Aberdare National Park, Nyeri Kenya noted for watching wild animals on prowl overnight. King George VI had died at home and on waking up she had become the sovereign over the United Kingdom and her dependencies, including Kenya.

But as she ascended the throne the sun gradually started to set over the British Empire. The Indian subcontinent had attained independence as India and Pakistan with the latter including today’s Bangladesh in 1947. She was the monarch under whose leadership the parts of Africa that were colonised by the British attained independence, with the turn of Nigeria on October 1, 1960, with Sudan and Ghana preceding Nigeria.

As the sovereign, she visited her territory of Nigeria in February 1956 and requested an unscheduled trip to Ijebu-Ode to visit her late father’s friend, Chief Timothy Adeola Odutola at his palatial residence and spoke to the Ijebu people at Itoro, the public square on February 18, 1956. I was a little less than a year old but at that time was said to be set to join the statistics of African children who never made it to their first birthday.

Without contraceptives, I was not born for about nine years after my parents got married. We lived in a building of 6 rooms with a family in each room. Mrs. Adesanya (Iye Bukunola), had pressured my mum out of the house to go to Itoro grounds and witness the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. Mama had been crying for days and wanted to remain at home as it appeared that her only son would die at any moment. I had been very sick and my parents had spent all they had in the hospital before being discharged without my recovery. Mrs. Adesanya carried me on her back as they all, including my dad, went to Itoro. However, they met one of the nurses from the hospital at the Itoro grounds who suggested that all that was needed was food supplements and milk. My parents had no money to actualise the advice. A kind woman living near our residence with a store, Mrs. Olukoya, stated that I belonged to all in the neighbourhood and gave the food supplements and milk free. Miraculously, the information received as a result of the kind diversion of Queen Elizabeth to Ijebu-Ode ensured my recovery and subsequent contribution to humanity.

Queen Elizabeth II was a great brand for Great Britain. A source of affect who reigned but not ruled being a constitutional monarch. Her demeanour as head of a constitutional arrangement reflecting stability should not be downplayed as many in the U.K. saw her as a rallying point for development. She remained Head of State for 15 countries. Nigeria shed that toga in 1963 when the country became a republic. But Nigeria and other 53/55 countries, remain a member of the Commonwealth that she headed.

She would be missed for her calm beautifully choreographed ceremonial duties as Head of State of the U.K, now inherited by King Charles III. Beyond that, her death will not bring any major changes to international politics, neither the British position on the Russia-Ukraine war nor the inflationary trend in the world. On that, we must look at the young woman Liz Truss, whom she appointed as British Prime Minister on September 6, 2022, during her last public appearance. Heartfelt condolences to the British people.